Report Findings and Summary

There’s no doubting that California is a nice place to visit, from picturesque San Francisco in the north to sunny Los Angeles and San Diego in the south. But it’s actually a nice place to live, too.

California claims the No. 8 ranking on LawnStarter’s 2015 Quality of Life Index for the 50 states.

The index is based on six quality-of-life factors analyzed by LawnStarter and borrowed from The Economist -- GDP (economic output) per capita, average life expectancy, divorce rate, unemployment rate, geographic location (latitude) and male-female income equality. The Economist considers these factors to be good barometers for quality of life.

California’s top scores are for geographic location, divorce rate, GDP and male-female income equality.

“The state of California is a land more diverse than the rest,” according to Study California. “If you prefer an urban lifestyle, you can spend your time in one of the state’s many cities – eight of the nation’s 50 most populated cities lie within California’s borders. If you prefer a slower pace of life, you will fall in love with the state’s countryside and redwood forests.”